The MovieMuse Reviews (MovieViews) database is a searchable collection of films that the team have watched, providing a comprehensive guide on what to watch and what to avoid. It provides a link to an in-depth review or a short opinion on the film and a rating, as well as a link to the film’s poster or DVD cover. For more recent entries we are also including a link to the film’s IMDb page and a trailer from YouTube.
You can search and sort the list by individual film names, genre, reviewer, score and other variables to inform you on whether a film is worth your time, or to inspire you for your next movie night.
We will also use the database to create periodic lists of the recommended films in all sorts of categories. These lists will be shared on the website and some will even come with a video.
Poster | Movie | Year | Genre | Comments | Rating |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors | 1987 | 9, 11 | Some of the acting is ropey and the music is weak but this is actually a pretty smart sequel, bringing back characters from the first movie, expanding Freddy's back story and showcasing some great special effects for the time. | 7 | |
Them (Ils) | 2006 | 11, 20 | A well made French home invasion thriller which is tense and claustrophobic, with most of the scares coming from the impending sense of dread rather than outright violence. The use of unnerving sound effects is particularly effective. | 7 | |
The Burning | 1981 | 11 | Notable for Tom Savini's gore effects and Rick Wakeman's score, this is otherwise a poor Friday the 13th rip-off with absolutely no sense of mystery and quite boring death scenes. | 4 | |
The Awakening | 2011 | 11, 13 | The acting is good, the period setting is well done and there are a few effective scares, but ultimately this ghost story is all just a bit dull. | 6 | |
It's a Wonderful Life | 1946 | 4, 7, 8 | Frank Capra's classic tale of a man losing hope and finding redemption in the people around him is often hailed as the best Christmas film ever. I'd wager that you don't need to include the word Christmas in that title. Still an absolute masterpiece. | 10 | |
The Public | 2018 | 4, 7 | Emilio Estevez puts in a solid shift as writer, director and lead actor in this funny, thought-provoking drama. A lack of story resolution and some superflous plot threads won’t please everyone, but the engaging characters make it enjoyable to watch. | 7 | |
There's Something About Mary | 1998 | 4, 16 | The Farrelly Brothers set the bar for gross-out comedy, with some scenes just awful and others hilarious, but there is also a sweet story at its heart. It may have spawned a sub-genre that is now tiresome but this is one of the best films of its kind. | 7 | |
Dogma | 1999 | 4, 7 | Kevin Smith combines a well-researched religious storyline with his usual pop culture driven script to deliver a witty, thought-provoking comedy that asks a lot of questions about religion but never truly insults it. | 7 | |
Watchers | 1988 | 11, 20 | The story is significantly different from the novel, the creature effects are poor and Haim's transition from carefree teen to resourceful hero is hard to believe, but there are some creepy moments, the dog is adorable and the soundtrack is very good. | 5 | |
Bill & Ted Face the Music | 2020 | 1, 4 | While the story is heavily derived from the earlier films, this instalment is generally funnier and more heart-warming than its predecessors. A most triumphant end to Bill and Ted's story, despite the final twist being about as predictable as they come. | 7 | |
Total Recall | 1990 | Action, 17 | Arnie may have been an A-list star at this point, but this feels like a very expensive B-movie. The story is good but the effects have aged terribly, almost all the supporting cast are poor and the action scenes are unimaginative until the big finale. | 6 | |
Stuber | 2019 | Action, 4 | The heavy promotion of Uber's service is a bit cringeworthy and the story is pretty generic action fare, but there are plenty of jokes, some hilarious excessive violence and the two lead actors make an entertaining odd couple. | 6 | |
Sword of Trust | 2019 | 4 | After a slow start this develops into a bizarre, frequently funny, occasionally intense film that benefits greatly from Marc Maron's acerbic performance whilst also taking time to make fun of nutty conspiracy theorists. | 6 | |
Happy Gilmore | 1996 | 4, 19 | Adam Sandler is annoying as hell at times but somehow that doesn't stop this being a lot more enjoyable than it probably deserves, with the rags to riches sporting theme and a sweet-natured purpose giving it more credibility than most of his work. | 7 | |
Dante's Peak | 1997 | 1, 20 | A few cheesy scenes aside, this disaster movie is fairly entertaining with some decent effects, plausible science and reasonable performances from the lead actors, thoughit never quite delivers the big thrills that other movies in this genre have. | 7 | |
Big | 1988 | 4, 9 | Hanks is perfect at portraying the wish-fulfilment of a child with an adult’s resources juxtaposed with the loneliness of a child trapped in an adult’s body, and this is surely the reason he was targeted for more serious roles after this great film. | 8 | |
National Lampoon's Vacation | 1983 | 4 | Many comedies from this era have aged badly due to jokes that are now considered insensitive, but Vacation still works thanks to the mostly-innocent humour and remains relevant to anyone that has ever been on a family road trip they’d prefer to forget. | 8 | |
First Blood | 1982 | Action, 20 | The message about treating war veterans more sympathetically gets a little lost amid the violence but that doesn’t stop this being a great film with the highlight being the thrilling chase through the wilderness as Rambo evades his pursuers. | 8 | |
An American Werewolf in London | 1981 | 4, 11 | A masterful blend of comedy and horror, with almost as many laughs as there are shocks, while Rick Baker’s werewolf transformation sequence still looks incredible. One of the scariest, funniest and saddest horror films you will ever see. | 9 | |
Stir Crazy | 1980 | 4 | One of several Richard Pryor/Gene Wilder collaborations and it's clearly designed to showcase them with the story being an afterthought. Pryor's contribution still holds up pretty well but Wilder's antics are pretty annoying and haven’t aged well. | 5 | |
Twins | 1988 | Action, 4 | The plot is pretty flimsy but Arnie provides a pretty good comedic performance, ably backed by Devito, and there are a few reasonable action scenes. Not one of the big man's best but still entertaining. | 6 | |
Edge of Tomorrow | 2014 | Action, 17 | A clever story and great action scenes combined with a surprisingly humble performance from Cruise and a badass showing from Emily Blunt all makes for an excellent Sci-Fi thriller which also makes room for some good humour at times. | 8 | |
I See You | 2019 | 13, 20 | The cinematography and score are perfect for this type of film but story is all over the place for the first half hour or so. Then there's a twist that cleverly explains everything and things really pick up, though the later twist is far more predictable. | 6 | |
Stagecoach | 1986 | 1, 22 | This light-hearted remake of the 1939 classic primarily serves as marketing for some of the era's biggest names in Country Music and they generally do a decent job, with Willie Nelson the standout thanks to some good comedic moments. | 6 | |
Red Lights | 2012 | 13, 20 | How this modestly-budgeted film managed to secure such a high calibre cast is the biggest mystery, but it is well shot with an intriguing premise and is fairly gripping until the lazy twist ending undoes much of the good work done before it. | 7 |